HOME | DD

Description
"Brotherly Love"
By: Jade Lightning a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 8: "Before the end, I remember you."

    As Shadow scaled the halls up to the throne room, fraught with guards he had to fight, Knuckles ran through the twisting, damp, and oddly empty halls towards the arena.  Not having to fight, his anger fed his rage, making him all the more pumped to fight, to beat the life out of the people who killed his clan, tortured his brother, and almost ruined his life.

    But who was he really mad at here?  He thought he was still ticked at Shadow’s stubbornness and selfishness, but inside, he knew that Shadow was no more stubborn than he was, and in truth, he was far from selfish.  Even now, Knuckles knew that Shadow was freeing the same prisoners who had been victimized the same way he was, and had been a friend to Hidama through all the pain.  Knuckles knew that they separated as much because of Shadow as they did because of him.

    This was the first time when Knuckles, deep in the heart of the enemy fortress, and alone in an eerie silence, began to feel extremely alone and utterly abandoned.  He stopped running, out of breath, stumbled backwards, and fell into a wall, sliding down it slowly until he had slumped down to the floor, putting his head on his knees, his hands on his head, and began crying softly.  He did not know what it was, he was just terribly upset, miserable, and alone, unsure of what he faced just a bit deeper into the fortress.

    A lot of the pain came from his memories of Hidama, few and broken, as he had forced himself to forget a great deal of them in the years gone by.  All he knew was as soon as Shadow told him his brother was alive, that it was no question what he had to do.  He had to save Hidama, like Hidama had saved him many years ago.  He knew he loved his brother, and was dying for them to be together again.  As he sat there, curled up in a ball weeping, one of his memories of Hidama finally started to return to him.

    **Knuckles was only a three-year-old at the time, and Hidama was five.  As the memory returned to him, he could see his younger self, giggling and laughing as he followed his mom around the village.  Hidama was running up to them from the direction of the Master Emerald’s altar.  Catching up to their mother, and tugging on her dress, he asked, “Momma, why does Daddy have to stay up there all day?  Me and Knuckles wanna play with him, right Knuckles?”

    Little Knuckles didn’t talk much at this point, but whenever his brother talked to him, he said more.  This time, he giggled happily and nodded saying, “Mhmm Hidama, yup, yup!”

    Hidama laughed in response, walking up to his brother and grabbing his hand, then pulling the two into a wild spin until they fell to the ground, laughing even louder.  Knuckles crawled over to Hidama and hugged him, and Hidama hugged him in return and said, “Of course, Knuckles and me can have lotsa fun on our own.  He is the best little brother in the world after all.”

    The two boys got up, Hidama first, and then he helped up his brother.  They walked over to their mother, who laughed with pleasure at seeing her two sons happy, knelt down, pulling them into a hug and saying, “Oh Hidama, your father loves you both, but he has a very important job to do.  He is the Guardian of the Master Emerald after all, and Hidama, you know someday, you’ll be the Guardian.”

    After their hug, Hidama looked down, then at his brother, and then towards the Master Emerald, which in the distance looked like a bright star, shining during the day.  He said, with a small sigh, though a happy one, “Yes Momma, I know.  I dunno…I just wish he had more of a break, time to spend with us ya know?”  He laughed, and picking up Knuckles, being pretty strong, even at his young age, said, “What about Knuckles?  If he won’t be the Guardian who will he be?”

    Little Knuckles laughed, swinging his legs as his brother held him, and looked to his mother for the answer to his brother’s question, though he hardly understood it at the time.  Their mother gently kissed Hidama on the top of his head, before taking Knuckles from him, and kissing Knuckles on his cheek, which made him laugh, giggle, and squeal, swinging his legs even more.  She reached for Hidama’s hand, and after he took it, they started walking together.  Seeing her sons look at her with big eyes for an answer to Hidama’s question, she laughed softly and said, “Why, Knuckles will be one of your guards Hidama.  He’ll be one of the two guards that will stand with you while you guard the Master, and look after it when you take a break to sleep, or visit your family.”

    Hidama’s eyes widened, and he laughed saying, “Oh!  You mean he’ll be like one of those guys who stands with Daddy!  That’ll be cool!”  He looked up at Knuckles, and said, “Won’t that be cool Knuxie?  We’ll get to guard the Master Emerald together!  Isn’t that great?  We’ll be the best Guardians ever!”

    Knuckles nodded, giggling again and replying, “Mhmm Hidama, yep, yep, yep!  Best Guardians ever!  We’ll make Daddy proud of us!”  Then kissing his mom on the cheek he said, “We’ll make you proud too Mommy, you’ll see!”

    Their mother smiled warmly at her two sons.  When they got back to their home, she sat Knuckles down.  The two boys came together again, closer than any other siblings around, and as they were hugging, she laughed and said, “You two run along inside.  I know your father said he’d come back this evening, so go inside and wash up before dinner.”

    Hidama’s and Knuckles’ eyes widened with glee at hearing their father was coming, so they hurried inside.  Knuckles could remember looking back at his mother, who had turned to look towards the Master Emerald’s altar.  It was at this point that he remembered how beautiful she was, seeing her, framed against the setting sun, the Master Emerald glistening like a circlet upon her head in the distance.  He froze that image in his mind, her eyes gazing towards the silhouette of their father with longing, admiration, and a deep, true love in her eyes.  She really loved them, and even more love, did she give to their father, and the job he ultimately gave his life for, as good, happy, loving and warm as it was.**

    Knuckles opened his eyes, tears still flowing from them, and the air stinging them as he opened them after so many tears had fallen.  He brought his hand to his eyes, using the cuff of his gloves to wipe his tears away, shutting them tightly as he did so, not only to suppress his tears, but to dissipate the stinging sensation in them.  After a few moments, the feelings that flowed into his heart from this lost memory finally burned through the misery.  After all these years, he could finally remember how beautiful, loving and caring his dear mother was, how proud, honorable, caring and strong his father was; how his brother was his best friend in the world, his protector, and the one he knew he could always count on to be there for him.  He could finally remember his happy life, and how that one horrible night, carried out by the creatures in this very fortress, took that all away.

    He stood up, his tears gone and his eyes cool, and got his courage back.  This memory had come back to him at the perfect time, for now he had almost felt like giving up, even only for a fleeting moment.  The feelings the memories returned to him, stirred up the rage within his heart that he held for countless years silent within him.  No longer could he keep his tears away; no longer could he keep his pain bottled away; no longer could he ignore his anger; no longer could he keep the memories of his family locked in silence.  Now was the time to avenge them, and take back the one thing in this world, besides Amy, that he cared more about than anything else in the world: his brother Hidama.

    A look of fierce determination returned to the echidna’s face.  He shook his head, and whispered, “Knuckles, you foolish, foolish echidna; forgetting the life you had could never make the pain go away.  It only made it worse, you were lucky you had such great friends and Amy especially, to put up with your crap.  No more, no more can I hide it.  It’s time to end this, and finally put an end to the suffering of my kin…my family…time to put an end to Hidama’s and my suffering.”  He looked up, fists clenched, and continued, “It’s time to make our mother and father proud of us, Hidama.  Just like we said we would…back when things were actually normal.  For them, for us all, let’s finish this.”

    At this point, Shadow was locked in battle with Captain Zelias, their match coming to its climax; even now as Knuckles raced up the remainder of the hallways, the entire adventure, was coming to its frightful peak.  Lord Feldmort entered the arena, empty still as it awaited the return of Zelias’ army and the Master Emerald.  Amy was still in her cage, which sat next to a grand throne, similar to the one Shadow was now being blasted into as he fought the mutant captain.  She looked up, to see Lord Feldmort enter and say, “Excellent!  This shall make a fine setting for the final battle royale.”

    Amy was getting increasingly angry with him, more upset than anything else.  She shouted at him, “What to do you mean by battle royale!?  Knuckles will never fight Hidama, and no matter what, he’s strong enough to get that chip out of Hidama’s neck without hurting him!  You’re crazy!”

    Lord Feldmort glared at her, his eyes flashing, but in an instant his look of anger and disgusted melted away to a hideous cackle.  He laughed and said, “Me crazy?  Ha!  You are surely the stupid one in this case Miss Rose.  At this very moment, your dear friend Sonic marches with my army, under MY control.  In his hands, he carries none other…than the Master Emerald!”

    The look on Amy’s face now went through a drastic change.  Her emerald green eyes, which had burned with a fire in them, now paled to a dim sadness.  Her determined face now melted into one of sadness, fear, and sheer horror.  She bent her head down, clasping her hands together over her heart, and falling away from Feldmort, hiding her face, she whimpered, “No…how is this possible…?”

    The mutant king laughed even louder and with more pleasure.  He shouted, “Ha!  You think those fools could contend with my will?  I doubt it!  That echidna boyfriend of yours can barely do his job, but those two are a joke!  I’m just glad I can take down Knuckles and Hidama at the same time!  The last two survivors of that dammed echidna clan, both sons of the last guardian, which means Hidama can control the Master as well as his brother!”

    Amy looked back at Feldmort, tears falling from her eyes at hearing this.  He bent over, pressing his mutant face up to the cage and continued, “And that’s not even the best part!  As upset as I was to learn a son of the guardian besides Hidama yet lived, overjoyed was I to learn I had the elder, for as the eldest son of the guardian, he is the TRUE guardian!  Once the Master Emerald reacts to his control, it will no longer respond to the commands of his brother!  Which means…I, Lord Feldmort, now control the most powerful weapon in the world!”

    At this point, her heart was breaking, for Amy knew that Feldmort intended to use Hidama to kill Knuckles, the only real threat against him, then use Hidama to relieve him and his armies of their mutant curse, before killing Hidama, and thus the entire echidna race.  She stood up and screamed, “Shadow!  Knuckles!  Stop!  Don’t come any further!  Please no!!”

    Lord Feldmort cackled even more wildly, drowning out her cries for help.  They made it to the throne room, but Shadow could not hear her, for he was now locked in battle with Zelias, brandishing his twin knives, and battling out to the death.  Knuckles couldn’t hear her even if he wanted to, for the hallways twisted so that her cries died before they could reach him.  Zelias’ army was within hearing distance, but Sonic was rooted too deeply under the mind control to give a care or notice.  Perhaps the only one who reacted was Hinsei Hidama, who at this point was taken down to the arena, but held behind the gates in waiting with the possessed Tails.

    He was floating in and out of the control, with the chip in his neck continuing to ail him as it malfunctioned, and by chance heard Amy’s cries, thus remembering Feldmort’s intentions.  He knew at that moment that everything rested in the power that flowed through his veins, the blood of the guardian flowing through him, which held the fate of the world in Hidama’s corner.  He cringed, his voice frail as his strength waned outside of the chip’s control, and he was dying to get the thing out of his neck.  He whispered, “Blood of the Guardian flowing through my veins, I only desire to relinquish my control as the Guardian of the Master Emerald to my brother, that he may be the true guardian, and thus able to save us all.  Why…must I be the cursed guardian?  Why…?  Please…save my brother…”

    Hidama didn’t know who he was praying to, but the possessed Tails elbowed him hard in the arm to get him to shut up, which jogged the chip back online, ensnaring poor Hidama once more.  Only a few more blows…and perhaps the chip could be dismantled for good…

    Now, came the time that makes every story great, reaching its climactic peak.  Shadow and Zelias had had now fallen to the ground, and Shadow, holding his final knife, towered before him, ready to end the long and brutal battle.  Shadow would be unable to reach Knuckles in time, for now, Knuckles was within yards of arena, where everything would come down.

    Amy cried out once more, but was cut short, but Lord Feldmort who pushed her down and back in her cage, where she landed hard, crying out in pain, which now reached Knuckles’ ears.  He ran to the entrance, and seeing this, he shouted, “Lord Feldmort!!  You’re mine!  Leave Amy alone!”

    Amy looked out in terror and cried, “No Knuckles, stop!  He has the—!” She was cut short as Feldmort clasped his hands over her mouth and said, “At last, we finally meet…Knuckles.  Come to save your girlfriend?”

    Knuckles glared at him and shouted even louder, “You better not have hurt her Feldmort!  I mean it!  You let her go this instant and then let me kill you!”  He ran towards the middle of the arena, but Feldmort snapped his fingers, and possessed Tails appeared before him, stopping him in his tracks.

    Feldmort held Amy fast, gagging her before levitating down to the floor, withdrawing Tails and coming face to face with the echidna.  He snorted and said, “Finally…I meet the second son of the very guardian I slew.”  Knuckles’ eyes widened at this, and Feldmort grinned, saying, “Indeed, I have brought no hurt to Miss Rose, but perhaps you’ve forgotten why you’re here…perhaps you’ve forgotten…” He paused, and turned towards the gates and continued, “…your brother Hidama.”

    His eyes may have widened before, but now the look on Knuckles’ face went from anger and rage to sadness and despair.  He knew it wasn’t Amy who had been hurt, but his brother.  He lowered his head, ready to weep, but again dispelled his sadness, growling low and said, “You bring my brother to me…and you let him go…I’ll kill you to set him free.”

    Feldmort grinned and said, “Ha!  You want your brother eh?  Humph, I’ll let you see him, and I can guarantee you, you’ll get to battle…so let that rage flow…but…,” He jumped up in one bound to his throne and shouted, “…direct it to your brother!”

    Knuckles looked up, then over at the gate, as the bars rose.  Finally, once the bars had risen completely, two red, glowing eyes became visible, and the possessed Hidama, stepped out into the light, then leaped into the air, flipping twice before landing within feet of his brother, without even knowing it.  There was a tense silence for a moment.  Knuckles was frozen; after all these years of misery, pain, loneliness and despair, here at long last was his brother.  After twelve long years of not knowing what became of his dear brother, here was Hidama right before him at last.  Knuckles’ heart felt broken as he could see the worn and wear that had been inflicted on his brother over years of pain and torture, and he knew that Hidama had suffered as much, if not more, than he had.  Rage filled Knuckles’ heart, for now he knew his brother had not only suffered, but was still under Feldmort’s control.

    He growled low, then screamed a heart-stopping scream, shouting, “Lord Feldmort!!  I’ll kill you for torturing my brother this way, and I’ll be dammed if I’ll fight him!  It’s your blood I want!  I don’t care if you use him for your dirty work, I will never hurt my brother!”  Before Knuckles could get halfway to Feldmort, Hidama ran up and ahead of him, blocking him from proceeding.

    Feldmort cackled wildly and screamed, “Don’t you dare Knuckles!  I said I had not hurt Amy…yet!  Either fight with your brother, or I’ll kill her with one swipe!  I mean it!”  Amy was crying at this point, trying to tell Knuckles about the Master Emerald, now within Feldmort’s grasp.  Knuckles lowered his fists and eyes, knowing Amy was more important to him than anything in the world.  He turned to look at his brother, who only stood maybe a few inches taller than him, and looked at him, knowing that Hidama could not hear him, and he desperately wanted to tell him that he loved him.

    “Hidama,” he whispered, “I’m going to free you, but have to save Amy at the same time.”  He paused, looking down, then into his brother’s eyes, which he remembered were a sapphire blue, and continued, “We’ll be together again…,” then, in an even lower voice he continued, “I love you, Hidama.  I never got to thank you…for saving my life, and allowing me to grow up, and have friends who care for me, then meet Amy who loves me, and makes everything in life bearable.  But now…,” his voice got a bit louder, then he said, “Now I’m going to save you, son of the Guardian.”

    The chip in Hidama’s neck malfunctioned once more, but not long enough for him to speak.  Almost instantly, he swung at Knuckles, and the battle between them began.  Amy heart sank even more at seeing this, for now, the brother’s were locked in a battle they couldn’t escape.  Once more, the Master Emerald was about to enter the battle, and a fallen Shadow, finally able to kill Zelias, was unable to do anything to help.

    Knuckles obviously was on the defensive, but saw that Feldmort only found joy when they exchanged blows.  Cringing and holding his breath, he whispered, “Forgive me Hidama.” He had avoided all of Hidama’s blows, and not attempted to hit him in return, but finally, Knuckles closed his eyes, and thrust his fist into Hidama as he ran towards him.  Hidama fell backwards, and didn’t move for a moment, growling low and angrily as he sat motionless.  Knuckles opened his eyes and looked at him, and asked, “Hidama?  Are you—okay?”  Knuckles took a step towards his brother, unsure of what was happening.

    Amy, stilled gagged and now bound as Feldmort sat in his throne, tried in vain to be able to speak.  She was desperate to tell Knuckles about the rage-induced attack that the influence of the chip pumped into Hidama.  Shadow could have spoken of it all too well after he battled possessed Tails.  Unfortunately, neither of them could help, and Knuckles got too close to Hidama to escape what happened next.

    The blow Knuckles gave him had turned into rage, pumping up his attack power, and everything else for that matter, making him stronger after just one hit.  He immediately sprung to life, delivering a bad blow to Knuckles’ jaw, and he began to bleed profusely.  Amy tried to scream, and as Knuckles tried to recover, bringing his hand up to his bleeding jaw, Lord Feldmort cackled even wildly, and shouted, “You see Knuckles?  You either fight Hidama, who will only get stronger as you fight him, and die, or don’t fight at all…and Amy dies instead!  Ah hah!  Finally the echidna clan will be completely destroyed! AH HAH!! MWAHAHA!!!”

    Knuckles grew even angrier, but had no time to react, for Hidama moved forward to attack him again, and his only defense was to jump back, and try and defend against Hidama’s attacks, which were now, stronger than before, and only poised to be even harder to stop.  He looked up, and saw that Feldmort was ready to hurt Amy the longer he took to attack, running out of choices, he wished so hard that he hadn’t left Shadow, unaware that the Master Emerald was about ready to seal their fates.

    He closed his eyes, praying so hard, for something to happen.  “What can I do?  I have to save Amy…but…I think I’m going to die.  Oh Shadow, why was I so stubborn and stupid enough to leave you?  I know you’d know what to do…I’m on my own here.”  He opened his eyes, backing away again, but taking another defensive swing at his brother, not intending for it to hit him, but it did anyway.  Now, his brother was twice as stronger than before.  The battle was about to reach its climax, and perhaps, Shadow’s premonition, would come true.  Perhaps someone…would die.

Description
"Brotherly Love"
By: Jade Lightning a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 8: "Before the end, I remember you."

    As Shadow scaled the halls up to the throne room, fraught with guards he had to fight, Knuckles ran through the twisting, damp, and oddly empty halls towards the arena.  Not having to fight, his anger fed his rage, making him all the more pumped to fight, to beat the life out of the people who killed his clan, tortured his brother, and almost ruined his life.

    But who was he really mad at here?  He thought he was still ticked at Shadow’s stubbornness and selfishness, but inside, he knew that Shadow was no more stubborn than he was, and in truth, he was far from selfish.  Even now, Knuckles knew that Shadow was freeing the same prisoners who had been victimized the same way he was, and had been a friend to Hidama through all the pain.  Knuckles knew that they separated as much because of Shadow as they did because of him.

    This was the first time when Knuckles, deep in the heart of the enemy fortress, and alone in an eerie silence, began to feel extremely alone and utterly abandoned.  He stopped running, out of breath, stumbled backwards, and fell into a wall, sliding down it slowly until he had slumped down to the floor, putting his head on his knees, his hands on his head, and began crying softly.  He did not know what it was, he was just terribly upset, miserable, and alone, unsure of what he faced just a bit deeper into the fortress.

    A lot of the pain came from his memories of Hidama, few and broken, as he had forced himself to forget a great deal of them in the years gone by.  All he knew was as soon as Shadow told him his brother was alive, that it was no question what he had to do.  He had to save Hidama, like Hidama had saved him many years ago.  He knew he loved his brother, and was dying for them to be together again.  As he sat there, curled up in a ball weeping, one of his memories of Hidama finally started to return to him.

    **Knuckles was only a three-year-old at the time, and Hidama was five.  As the memory returned to him, he could see his younger self, giggling and laughing as he followed his mom around the village.  Hidama was running up to them from the direction of the Master Emerald’s altar.  Catching up to their mother, and tugging on her dress, he asked, “Momma, why does Daddy have to stay up there all day?  Me and Knuckles wanna play with him, right Knuckles?”

    Little Knuckles didn’t talk much at this point, but whenever his brother talked to him, he said more.  This time, he giggled happily and nodded saying, “Mhmm Hidama, yup, yup!”

    Hidama laughed in response, walking up to his brother and grabbing his hand, then pulling the two into a wild spin until they fell to the ground, laughing even louder.  Knuckles crawled over to Hidama and hugged him, and Hidama hugged him in return and said, “Of course, Knuckles and me can have lotsa fun on our own.  He is the best little brother in the world after all.”

    The two boys got up, Hidama first, and then he helped up his brother.  They walked over to their mother, who laughed with pleasure at seeing her two sons happy, knelt down, pulling them into a hug and saying, “Oh Hidama, your father loves you both, but he has a very important job to do.  He is the Guardian of the Master Emerald after all, and Hidama, you know someday, you’ll be the Guardian.”

    After their hug, Hidama looked down, then at his brother, and then towards the Master Emerald, which in the distance looked like a bright star, shining during the day.  He said, with a small sigh, though a happy one, “Yes Momma, I know.  I dunno…I just wish he had more of a break, time to spend with us ya know?”  He laughed, and picking up Knuckles, being pretty strong, even at his young age, said, “What about Knuckles?  If he won’t be the Guardian who will he be?”

    Little Knuckles laughed, swinging his legs as his brother held him, and looked to his mother for the answer to his brother’s question, though he hardly understood it at the time.  Their mother gently kissed Hidama on the top of his head, before taking Knuckles from him, and kissing Knuckles on his cheek, which made him laugh, giggle, and squeal, swinging his legs even more.  She reached for Hidama’s hand, and after he took it, they started walking together.  Seeing her sons look at her with big eyes for an answer to Hidama’s question, she laughed softly and said, “Why, Knuckles will be one of your guards Hidama.  He’ll be one of the two guards that will stand with you while you guard the Master, and look after it when you take a break to sleep, or visit your family.”

    Hidama’s eyes widened, and he laughed saying, “Oh!  You mean he’ll be like one of those guys who stands with Daddy!  That’ll be cool!”  He looked up at Knuckles, and said, “Won’t that be cool Knuxie?  We’ll get to guard the Master Emerald together!  Isn’t that great?  We’ll be the best Guardians ever!”

    Knuckles nodded, giggling again and replying, “Mhmm Hidama, yep, yep, yep!  Best Guardians ever!  We’ll make Daddy proud of us!”  Then kissing his mom on the cheek he said, “We’ll make you proud too Mommy, you’ll see!”

    Their mother smiled warmly at her two sons.  When they got back to their home, she sat Knuckles down.  The two boys came together again, closer than any other siblings around, and as they were hugging, she laughed and said, “You two run along inside.  I know your father said he’d come back this evening, so go inside and wash up before dinner.”

    Hidama’s and Knuckles’ eyes widened with glee at hearing their father was coming, so they hurried inside.  Knuckles could remember looking back at his mother, who had turned to look towards the Master Emerald’s altar.  It was at this point that he remembered how beautiful she was, seeing her, framed against the setting sun, the Master Emerald glistening like a circlet upon her head in the distance.  He froze that image in his mind, her eyes gazing towards the silhouette of their father with longing, admiration, and a deep, true love in her eyes.  She really loved them, and even more love, did she give to their father, and the job he ultimately gave his life for, as good, happy, loving and warm as it was.**

    Knuckles opened his eyes, tears still flowing from them, and the air stinging them as he opened them after so many tears had fallen.  He brought his hand to his eyes, using the cuff of his gloves to wipe his tears away, shutting them tightly as he did so, not only to suppress his tears, but to dissipate the stinging sensation in them.  After a few moments, the feelings that flowed into his heart from this lost memory finally burned through the misery.  After all these years, he could finally remember how beautiful, loving and caring his dear mother was, how proud, honorable, caring and strong his father was; how his brother was his best friend in the world, his protector, and the one he knew he could always count on to be there for him.  He could finally remember his happy life, and how that one horrible night, carried out by the creatures in this very fortress, took that all away.

    He stood up, his tears gone and his eyes cool, and got his courage back.  This memory had come back to him at the perfect time, for now he had almost felt like giving up, even only for a fleeting moment.  The feelings the memories returned to him, stirred up the rage within his heart that he held for countless years silent within him.  No longer could he keep his tears away; no longer could he keep his pain bottled away; no longer could he ignore his anger; no longer could he keep the memories of his family locked in silence.  Now was the time to avenge them, and take back the one thing in this world, besides Amy, that he cared more about than anything else in the world: his brother Hidama.

    A look of fierce determination returned to the echidna’s face.  He shook his head, and whispered, “Knuckles, you foolish, foolish echidna; forgetting the life you had could never make the pain go away.  It only made it worse, you were lucky you had such great friends and Amy especially, to put up with your crap.  No more, no more can I hide it.  It’s time to end this, and finally put an end to the suffering of my kin…my family…time to put an end to Hidama’s and my suffering.”  He looked up, fists clenched, and continued, “It’s time to make our mother and father proud of us, Hidama.  Just like we said we would…back when things were actually normal.  For them, for us all, let’s finish this.”

    At this point, Shadow was locked in battle with Captain Zelias, their match coming to its climax; even now as Knuckles raced up the remainder of the hallways, the entire adventure, was coming to its frightful peak.  Lord Feldmort entered the arena, empty still as it awaited the return of Zelias’ army and the Master Emerald.  Amy was still in her cage, which sat next to a grand throne, similar to the one Shadow was now being blasted into as he fought the mutant captain.  She looked up, to see Lord Feldmort enter and say, “Excellent!  This shall make a fine setting for the final battle royale.”

    Amy was getting increasingly angry with him, more upset than anything else.  She shouted at him, “What to do you mean by battle royale!?  Knuckles will never fight Hidama, and no matter what, he’s strong enough to get that chip out of Hidama’s neck without hurting him!  You’re crazy!”

    Lord Feldmort glared at her, his eyes flashing, but in an instant his look of anger and disgusted melted away to a hideous cackle.  He laughed and said, “Me crazy?  Ha!  You are surely the stupid one in this case Miss Rose.  At this very moment, your dear friend Sonic marches with my army, under MY control.  In his hands, he carries none other…than the Master Emerald!”

    The look on Amy’s face now went through a drastic change.  Her emerald green eyes, which had burned with a fire in them, now paled to a dim sadness.  Her determined face now melted into one of sadness, fear, and sheer horror.  She bent her head down, clasping her hands together over her heart, and falling away from Feldmort, hiding her face, she whimpered, “No…how is this possible…?”

    The mutant king laughed even louder and with more pleasure.  He shouted, “Ha!  You think those fools could contend with my will?  I doubt it!  That echidna boyfriend of yours can barely do his job, but those two are a joke!  I’m just glad I can take down Knuckles and Hidama at the same time!  The last two survivors of that dammed echidna clan, both sons of the last guardian, which means Hidama can control the Master as well as his brother!”

    Amy looked back at Feldmort, tears falling from her eyes at hearing this.  He bent over, pressing his mutant face up to the cage and continued, “And that’s not even the best part!  As upset as I was to learn a son of the guardian besides Hidama yet lived, overjoyed was I to learn I had the elder, for as the eldest son of the guardian, he is the TRUE guardian!  Once the Master Emerald reacts to his control, it will no longer respond to the commands of his brother!  Which means…I, Lord Feldmort, now control the most powerful weapon in the world!”

    At this point, her heart was breaking, for Amy knew that Feldmort intended to use Hidama to kill Knuckles, the only real threat against him, then use Hidama to relieve him and his armies of their mutant curse, before killing Hidama, and thus the entire echidna race.  She stood up and screamed, “Shadow!  Knuckles!  Stop!  Don’t come any further!  Please no!!”

    Lord Feldmort cackled even more wildly, drowning out her cries for help.  They made it to the throne room, but Shadow could not hear her, for he was now locked in battle with Zelias, brandishing his twin knives, and battling out to the death.  Knuckles couldn’t hear her even if he wanted to, for the hallways twisted so that her cries died before they could reach him.  Zelias’ army was within hearing distance, but Sonic was rooted too deeply under the mind control to give a care or notice.  Perhaps the only one who reacted was Hinsei Hidama, who at this point was taken down to the arena, but held behind the gates in waiting with the possessed Tails.

    He was floating in and out of the control, with the chip in his neck continuing to ail him as it malfunctioned, and by chance heard Amy’s cries, thus remembering Feldmort’s intentions.  He knew at that moment that everything rested in the power that flowed through his veins, the blood of the guardian flowing through him, which held the fate of the world in Hidama’s corner.  He cringed, his voice frail as his strength waned outside of the chip’s control, and he was dying to get the thing out of his neck.  He whispered, “Blood of the Guardian flowing through my veins, I only desire to relinquish my control as the Guardian of the Master Emerald to my brother, that he may be the true guardian, and thus able to save us all.  Why…must I be the cursed guardian?  Why…?  Please…save my brother…”

    Hidama didn’t know who he was praying to, but the possessed Tails elbowed him hard in the arm to get him to shut up, which jogged the chip back online, ensnaring poor Hidama once more.  Only a few more blows…and perhaps the chip could be dismantled for good…

    Now, came the time that makes every story great, reaching its climactic peak.  Shadow and Zelias had had now fallen to the ground, and Shadow, holding his final knife, towered before him, ready to end the long and brutal battle.  Shadow would be unable to reach Knuckles in time, for now, Knuckles was within yards of arena, where everything would come down.

    Amy cried out once more, but was cut short, but Lord Feldmort who pushed her down and back in her cage, where she landed hard, crying out in pain, which now reached Knuckles’ ears.  He ran to the entrance, and seeing this, he shouted, “Lord Feldmort!!  You’re mine!  Leave Amy alone!”

    Amy looked out in terror and cried, “No Knuckles, stop!  He has the—!” She was cut short as Feldmort clasped his hands over her mouth and said, “At last, we finally meet…Knuckles.  Come to save your girlfriend?”

    Knuckles glared at him and shouted even louder, “You better not have hurt her Feldmort!  I mean it!  You let her go this instant and then let me kill you!”  He ran towards the middle of the arena, but Feldmort snapped his fingers, and possessed Tails appeared before him, stopping him in his tracks.

    Feldmort held Amy fast, gagging her before levitating down to the floor, withdrawing Tails and coming face to face with the echidna.  He snorted and said, “Finally…I meet the second son of the very guardian I slew.”  Knuckles’ eyes widened at this, and Feldmort grinned, saying, “Indeed, I have brought no hurt to Miss Rose, but perhaps you’ve forgotten why you’re here…perhaps you’ve forgotten…” He paused, and turned towards the gates and continued, “…your brother Hidama.”

    His eyes may have widened before, but now the look on Knuckles’ face went from anger and rage to sadness and despair.  He knew it wasn’t Amy who had been hurt, but his brother.  He lowered his head, ready to weep, but again dispelled his sadness, growling low and said, “You bring my brother to me…and you let him go…I’ll kill you to set him free.”

    Feldmort grinned and said, “Ha!  You want your brother eh?  Humph, I’ll let you see him, and I can guarantee you, you’ll get to battle…so let that rage flow…but…,” He jumped up in one bound to his throne and shouted, “…direct it to your brother!”

    Knuckles looked up, then over at the gate, as the bars rose.  Finally, once the bars had risen completely, two red, glowing eyes became visible, and the possessed Hidama, stepped out into the light, then leaped into the air, flipping twice before landing within feet of his brother, without even knowing it.  There was a tense silence for a moment.  Knuckles was frozen; after all these years of misery, pain, loneliness and despair, here at long last was his brother.  After twelve long years of not knowing what became of his dear brother, here was Hidama right before him at last.  Knuckles’ heart felt broken as he could see the worn and wear that had been inflicted on his brother over years of pain and torture, and he knew that Hidama had suffered as much, if not more, than he had.  Rage filled Knuckles’ heart, for now he knew his brother had not only suffered, but was still under Feldmort’s control.

    He growled low, then screamed a heart-stopping scream, shouting, “Lord Feldmort!!  I’ll kill you for torturing my brother this way, and I’ll be dammed if I’ll fight him!  It’s your blood I want!  I don’t care if you use him for your dirty work, I will never hurt my brother!”  Before Knuckles could get halfway to Feldmort, Hidama ran up and ahead of him, blocking him from proceeding.

    Feldmort cackled wildly and screamed, “Don’t you dare Knuckles!  I said I had not hurt Amy…yet!  Either fight with your brother, or I’ll kill her with one swipe!  I mean it!”  Amy was crying at this point, trying to tell Knuckles about the Master Emerald, now within Feldmort’s grasp.  Knuckles lowered his fists and eyes, knowing Amy was more important to him than anything in the world.  He turned to look at his brother, who only stood maybe a few inches taller than him, and looked at him, knowing that Hidama could not hear him, and he desperately wanted to tell him that he loved him.

    “Hidama,” he whispered, “I’m going to free you, but have to save Amy at the same time.”  He paused, looking down, then into his brother’s eyes, which he remembered were a sapphire blue, and continued, “We’ll be together again…,” then, in an even lower voice he continued, “I love you, Hidama.  I never got to thank you…for saving my life, and allowing me to grow up, and have friends who care for me, then meet Amy who loves me, and makes everything in life bearable.  But now…,” his voice got a bit louder, then he said, “Now I’m going to save you, son of the Guardian.”

    The chip in Hidama’s neck malfunctioned once more, but not long enough for him to speak.  Almost instantly, he swung at Knuckles, and the battle between them began.  Amy heart sank even more at seeing this, for now, the brother’s were locked in a battle they couldn’t escape.  Once more, the Master Emerald was about to enter the battle, and a fallen Shadow, finally able to kill Zelias, was unable to do anything to help.

    Knuckles obviously was on the defensive, but saw that Feldmort only found joy when they exchanged blows.  Cringing and holding his breath, he whispered, “Forgive me Hidama.” He had avoided all of Hidama’s blows, and not attempted to hit him in return, but finally, Knuckles closed his eyes, and thrust his fist into Hidama as he ran towards him.  Hidama fell backwards, and didn’t move for a moment, growling low and angrily as he sat motionless.  Knuckles opened his eyes and looked at him, and asked, “Hidama?  Are you—okay?”  Knuckles took a step towards his brother, unsure of what was happening.

    Amy, stilled gagged and now bound as Feldmort sat in his throne, tried in vain to be able to speak.  She was desperate to tell Knuckles about the rage-induced attack that the influence of the chip pumped into Hidama.  Shadow could have spoken of it all too well after he battled possessed Tails.  Unfortunately, neither of them could help, and Knuckles got too close to Hidama to escape what happened next.

    The blow Knuckles gave him had turned into rage, pumping up his attack power, and everything else for that matter, making him stronger after just one hit.  He immediately sprung to life, delivering a bad blow to Knuckles’ jaw, and he began to bleed profusely.  Amy tried to scream, and as Knuckles tried to recover, bringing his hand up to his bleeding jaw, Lord Feldmort cackled even wildly, and shouted, “You see Knuckles?  You either fight Hidama, who will only get stronger as you fight him, and die, or don’t fight at all…and Amy dies instead!  Ah hah!  Finally the echidna clan will be completely destroyed! AH HAH!! MWAHAHA!!!”

    Knuckles grew even angrier, but had no time to react, for Hidama moved forward to attack him again, and his only defense was to jump back, and try and defend against Hidama’s attacks, which were now, stronger than before, and only poised to be even harder to stop.  He looked up, and saw that Feldmort was ready to hurt Amy the longer he took to attack, running out of choices, he wished so hard that he hadn’t left Shadow, unaware that the Master Emerald was about ready to seal their fates.

    He closed his eyes, praying so hard, for something to happen.  “What can I do?  I have to save Amy…but…I think I’m going to die.  Oh Shadow, why was I so stubborn and stupid enough to leave you?  I know you’d know what to do…I’m on my own here.”  He opened his eyes, backing away again, but taking another defensive swing at his brother, not intending for it to hit him, but it did anyway.  Now, his brother was twice as stronger than before.  The battle was about to reach its climax, and perhaps, Shadow’s premonition, would come true.  Perhaps someone…would die.